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The Bavaria District has begun an initiative in our Middle Schools to use assessment to benefit instruction

Tests that actually help teachers!

It is possible to teach more effectively by using information gained from tests.

Interview with Charlie Toth:

…and to me this is the essence of why you went to college, why you took your courses to be a teacher, and why you go into the classroom everyday; that you are aligning what you do with what is important for students to know, and that what you are using to assess what you do with what they need to know matches. That’s teaching..  

End Interview

A number of our teachers from the Bavaria District, in collaboration with UCLA’s Dr. Jim Popham, have been involved with similar initiatives since 1997. 

Interview with Dr. James Popham:

The activity that we are currently engaged is intended to produce tests that will help teachers do a better job of instruction. I’ve been working with the Department of Defense Schools for almost 30 years now… and with the Wuerzburg… now the Bavaria District  for the past several… they’ve been moving more rapidly toward the use of instructionally illuminating assessment than any other district in the nation. Most districts, that is the leadership in most districts, are content to use whatever kinds of tests are available. Tests that sometimes don’t help instruction. In this district there is a REAL effort made to try to find the kinds of tests that really do help teachers teach and help children learn.

End Interview

These teachers are taking the lead in showing their middle school colleagues the benefits of using this type of model to improve instruction.

The chief goal of this initiative is to expand the number of District teachers who recognize that properly constructed educational assessments help clarify curricular aims so that teachers’ instruction can be more accurately aligned with those aims

Properly constructed educational assessments also supply pre-post test evidence so that teachers can judge the effectiveness of their own instruction.

A secondary goal of this initiative is to increase the instruction-related assessment literacy of participating teachers.

Our district initiative involves the collection of students’ pre and post tests that are blind-scored to determine students’ progress after an instructional period of approximately 7 months.

This project will encourage teachers to use tests to improve instruction.